Douglass Day is an annual program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass. Each year, libraries plan events and people gather to help create new & freely available resources for learning about Black history.

For this year’s Douglass Day celebration, we will be featuring a new crowdsourcing project on the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893). We will also have food, music, and a fun time! Stay the whole time OR drop-in.

What is a transcribe-a-thon?

Our main activity will be transcribing the words in all sorts of documents (from letters and diaries to certificates and postcards). Don’t feel comfortable reading old handwriting? You can also work in pairs! There are also many typewritten documents that are easier to read. And we have lots of tutorials, guides, and more to share.

Quick facts about Douglass Day

• Douglass Day celebrations began around the turn of the 20th century and helped inspire Black History Month
• A group at the University of Delaware helped revive Douglass Day in 2017. 
• This year’s event will be the sixth annual celebration of Douglass Day in its latter day form.
• Douglass Day helps create new digital resources for African American history each year. All materials created are made free & open to all. 

This event is organized by the DiMenna-Nyselius Library and co-sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies program. Questions? Contact nmarino@fairfield.edu